As described in the current pending U.S. patent application of William R. Wells, et. al., Ser. No. 09/491,899, gaming devices as described therein comprise systems for preventing, reducing, or detecting unauthorized card usage in cashless gaming, resulting for example from stolen or lost cards. As described therein, biometric sensing of the game player can provide a comparison of the biometric data directly received from the game player with biometric data carried on a cashless gaming card, with access to the gaming machine being typically permitted only when there is a match of the data.
Biometric measurement devices are available for use in connection with automatic teller machines, personal computers, and the like. Such biometric systems include retinal, iris, or fingerprint scans, as well as voice print or voice recognition systems, facial recognition systems, and the like. Preferably, the biometric identification system does not involve a remote access database. Rather, the biometric data which is directly measured from the game player is compared with biometric data on the cashless gaming card that the player carries, for both privacy of the data, and also to avoid the delay which may result from complex electronic transmissions to and from a central system which stores data and compares it.
By this invention, obtaining of biometric data from the game player is simplified and rendered rather automatic, avoiding a separate step that is perceptible to the game player, and slowing the game down from his perspective, or, perhaps generating a feeling of insecurity as the acquisition of biometric data is demanded and then taken by a separate biometric sensing device.